1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that causes a printing processor to execute a printing process when a user authenticator provided in the printing apparatus succeeds in user authentication upon receiving a print request from a user terminal.
2. Description of Related Art
A network printing system has been widely used, where a printing apparatus (a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a multifunction apparatus, etc.) is connected to a plurality of user terminals via a network, so as to allow the plurality of user terminals to share the printing apparatus. To control the status of use of the printing apparatus, a user authentication system using an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and the like has recently been installed to such a network printing system.
A reader provided in the printing apparatus that performs user authentication reads a user ID stored on a card carried by a user for user authentication. After providing a print instruction on a PC, a user goes to the printing apparatus for user authentication. When the printing apparatus needs to be warmed up at this time, such as when the apparatus has been in sleep mode and the like, warm-up starts when user authentication succeeds, and thus causing inconvenience as the user is forced to wait for a long time at the printing apparatus.
To address the problem above, technology is known that starts warm-up immediately after the printing apparatus receives the print instruction from the user terminal (Related Art 1), thus preventing the inconvenience where the user is forced to wait for long time at the printing apparatus. In addition, technology is known where an RFID system, which allows wireless communication in an area of about 1 m, detects that the user is coming close to the printing apparatus and entering a card detectable area of the reader, so as to start warm-up (Related Art 2). The technology can also expedite a warm-up start time and thus reduce the user's wait time.
[Related Art 1] Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication 2003-337510
[Related Art 2] Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication 2005-244623
However, with the conventional art that starts warm-up in response to the print request received from the user terminal, warm-up starts even when a print output does not need to be picked up immediately, thus wasting power consumption because the warm-up start timing is too early. Further, with the conventional art that starts warm-up when the user's card enters the reader's detectable area, warm-up may take longer than user authentication, thereby possibly causing some wait time and thus unable to fully eliminate the inconvenience where the user is forced to wait at the printing apparatus.